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  description: Interface with language models
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# Model I/O

The core element of any language model application is...the model. LangChain gives you the building blocks to interface with any language model.

![model_io_diagram](/img/model_io.jpg)

## [Conceptual Guide](./concepts)

A conceptual explanation of messages, prompts, LLMs vs ChatModels, and output parsers. You should read this before getting started.

## [Quick Start](./quick_start)

Covers the basics of getting started working with different types of models. You should walk through [this section] if you want to get an overview of the functionality.

## [Prompts](./prompts)

[This section](./prompts) deep dives into the different types of prompt templates and how to use them.

## [LLMs](./llms)

[This section](./llms) covers functionality related to the LLM class. This is a type of model that takes a text string as input and returns a text string.

## [ChatModels](./chat)

[This section](./chat) covers functionality related to the ChatModel class. This is a type of model that takes a list of messages as input and returns a message.

## [Output Parsers](./output_parsers)

Output parsers are responsible for transforming the output of LLMs and ChatModels into more structured data. [This section](./output_parsers) covers the different types of output parsers.

